Yahoo Autos Nissan's 1987 Dakar Rally Racer Drives Again
In 1986, a group of engineers at Nissan's European Technical Center built a Nissan Patrol racing truck with a 2800cc turbodiesel producing 146 horsepower and a whole lot more torque. This 3500-lb rolling advertisement for Fanta Limon had a top speed of 93mph on any terrain, enough to win the diesel category of the 1987 Paris-Dakar Rally and finish 9th overall:
"It began on 1 January 1987, with 312 vehicles lining up at the start of the grueling 8,000 mile race through Europe, Algeria, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal. The Nissan Fanta Limon team entered two vehicles; car 211 with Miguel Prieto and Ramon Termens, and car 212, crewed by brothers Jorge and Hansi Babler.
Things did not run smoothly. The team's support truck broke down on the second stage, leaving the pair without spares for the rest of the race. Car 212 was eventually forced to withdraw after rolling down a dune, but 211 battled on to the end. It was the first diesel to finish, in ninth place overall.
Mission accomplished, the cars were retired from racing. The whereabouts of 212 is unknown, but 211 was offered to the Salvador Claret, a private car collection and automotive museum south of Girona, Spain."
After almost three decades of neglect, Nissan's Spanish crew brought back the truck with the help of Pedro Diaz Illan, the only member of the original 1987 team still working there, and Juan Villegas, who explained why it took two years to get here:
"The engine was in terrible condition. It was impossible to start and many parts were heavily corroded. The front axle was quite damaged, but the worst thing was the electrics, which had been badly attacked by rats.
We were lucky to get the very old drawings and service manuals from NTCE. We followed all the fine adjustments to get the exact Paris-Dakar race set-up."
Then, it was finally time to head back to the Sahara. Number 211 has certainly waited long enough to get dirty again.
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